Amenda Rodriguez It is commonplace within films to replicate aspects of society like the formation of cliques, and/or groups that are subsets of the whole population. In these kinds of movies filmmakers indulge in the attributes of these subsection as well as the social orders, which facilitates them. Sociologists, like Norbert Elias, have theorized the creations and replication of social strata within Western society since before the 19th century. Norbert Elias’s infamous works theorized the creation of a unified social control within a civilization and the extrinsic influences of that control on the individuals themselves. An example of his key ideas are inherent in the movie “Divergent” where the presence of an embedded subset group “threatens” the social order and thus becomes a target for eradication. In Elias’ work “Power and Civility: The Civilizing Process II”, he begins his work by emphasizing that civilization is a process of modifying human conduct in a particular fashion which did not include a rational or irrational development. Elias’s point was that over time the social order was not “the plan” nor was it a spontaneous result of habitation, the formation of the social order exist because individual acts with self interest and preservation at heart, to which creates a intricate web of relations both amicable and hostile. Elias quotes {someone}, “From this interdependence of people arises a sus generis, an order more compelling and stronger than the will and reason of the individual composing it.” (pg 230) He continues by explaining that through this web, individuals are taught not only to socialize on a grander scale, but to exercise conduct regulation externally and internally. He uses the example of road systems... ... middle of paper ... ...enance of the social order is the presence of the Faction-less, a group abhorred and detested by the others served as a reminder to conduct oneself according to the rules. Elias explains that commonly used in organizations that monopolize force is the use of an indirect threat, that which is constantly imposed on the individual. Throughout the film, the protagonist used the fear of becoming Faction-less as a catalyst to become successful as a Dauntless. In conclusion, like many other films reenacting social order the movie Divergent displayed key concepts that Norbert Elias theorized fostered and facilitated social order edifying our understanding of how connected we are with each other as well as how as a group we applaud constricting behavior that is in line with what the central force imposes on us because we depend on each other to uphold our shared beliefs.
What is sociological imagination? Our textbook describes sociological imagination as the ability to see our private experiences, personal difficulties, and achievements as, in part, a reflection of the structural arrangements of society and the times in which we live. The movie entitled Forrest Gump is a great example of sociological imagination. In this paper, I will cite examples from the movie and tell how they correlate with sociological imagination. Sociological imagination allows us examine the events of our lives and see how they intersect with the wider context of history and tradition of the society in which we live. (Hughes/Kroehler, The Core, p. 7)
The idea of control and fear dictates the freedoms and philosophies within a society. In George Orwell’s novel 1984, the party, Ingsoc, manipulate the characters’ lives with the creation of the Spies, establishment of the thought police, and dependence on mediums. Similarly, in Brian Percival’s film The Book Thief, the Nazi regime controls the characters’ lives through the Hitler’s Youth Movement, the fear of the Gestapo, and use of mediums. In both the novel and film, these governments focus on the manipulation of youth, fear of authority, and use of mediums influence the characters’ morals and beliefs. With the governments heavily influence on the characters’ lives, this ultimately leads to the loss of one’s individuality within the society.
In our modern world, sociology has a tremendous impact on our culture, mainly through the processes and decisions we make everyday. For movies and television shows especially, sociological references are incorporated throughout the storyline. A movie which includes many sociological examples is Mean Girls. Mean Girls is a movie based on the life of home-schooled teenage girl, Cady Heron, who moves to the United States from Africa and is placed in a public school for the first time. Cady finds herself in many uncomfortable scenarios and has to deal with the trials and tribulations pertaining to everyday high school issues. Her experiences involve interacting with high school cliques, such as ‘the plastics’, weird high school teachers, relationships,
The 2006 film V for Vendetta, a cinematic remake of the classic graphic novel series by the same name, is the epitome of a Marxist fairy tale. The film is complete with a bourgeoisie government who spreads their ideology, via mass media, to a citizenry composed entirely of proletariats, and a hero who sets out to break said citizenry from the prison of false consciousness. If one examines the setting and environment of the film, and follows the main characters as they fight against, or break free from, false consciousness, evidence of Marxist themes are present throughout the film.
Social orders have existed for many years and have been passed down from one generation to another. In history class we have discovered that “social order” was a product of “civilized” societies. Social order was the structure of a civilized society created by human and it determines where one is placed and their duty. The way social order was justified was through philosophical and religious beliefs and morals. The wealthy and the people who reinforce these justifications are the ones who benefit from a social order. I’ll be supporting my paper on social order through information from Vedic India and China.
he focus of this paper will be to examine Kate Chopin’s The Awakening chapter ten, specifically paragraphs five to ten. Throughout The Awakening Edna is constantly fighting with the expectations of society and her desire to be a free woman. As a woman, Edna is expected to be the perfect wife and mother, however she longs to embrace and free her creative self. Because of this battle within herself she shows many of the characteristics of depression. The passage mentioned above is very symbolic of Edna’s fight to overcome her mental illness. The thesis of this paper is that Edna’s yearning to swim is a metaphor for her longing to overcome depression, patriarchal expectations and societal constraints. By taking an in-depth look into the author’s word choice, a parallel can be found between learning to swim and the ability to overcome the depression within.
‘Society makes and remakes people, but society is also made and remade by the multiple connections and disconnections between people, and between people, places and things’ (Havard, 2014, p.67).
The film that I have chosen to analyze is “The Purge”. “The Purge” is a 2013 American horror film directed by James DeMonaco. It was released on June 7, 2013, to mixed reviews. I will be analyzing “The Purge” by looking at conflict theory, class division, the importance of the ethnicity of each individual character, and the government’s overall political and economic agenda. In brief, I believe that Purge night takes place because of Conflict theory, due to political and economic agendas.
I chose the movie Divergent because there is so many events in the movie to talk about that has to do with sociology. I could have chosen any of the Sociological Perspectives for this movie but I believe that Structural functionalism was the best option. The movie Divergent is about a futuristic society broken up into five factions. Abnegation is the selfless or generous, Dauntless or what I like to call the fearless group, Candor the honest, Amity the peaceful and Erudite which loves knowledge and are the smart ones of society. At the age of 16 you have to either stay in the faction you were born into from your parents or you can choose a different faction. If you choose a different faction you have to leave your family behind and stay with
1984 is full of sociological aspects that, although they take place in a fictional world, mirror aspects and issues that can be seen in existing sociological structures and institutions. The society in 1984 is seemingly very radical compared to those that the world is familiar with, however, in some aspects it seems only a short step from reality. The story is representative of many sociological concepts and in this essay I will focus on two: power and dominant culture.
In "Sharing Social Context: Is Community with the Posthuman Possible," David Meeler and Eric Hill discuss the idea that film is creating a us vs them mentality through depictions of governance in post human films. Meeler and Hill explain that motion pictures focusing on post-human characters often follow two models. The first model is audiences seeing a fearful mass seek to stop emerging post humans or the "other" from taking control. INSERT SECOND MODEL HERE. Meeler and Hill state that state-controlled social dominance exhibited in some films is reminiscent of the Jim Crow laws, separating the other from us. This draws on racial tensions still seen around the world. In films, we see a socially regressive government in control. "How do our
Throughout history, mankind has changed and been influenced by the acts of one another. Sociologists have studied the behaviors of humans and they have coined numerous terms, theories, and principles to try and describe why humans behave the way they do. In the movie West Side Story numerous sociological terms are depicted, such as labeling theory, social norms, formal and informal sanctions, and the results of what governs groups within society when all else fails.
dispersal of responsibility stands out most sharply. What’s so significant is that the film appears
While watching movies, have you ever noticed that the villains in almost every single Hollywood film are of Middle Eastern or European descent? In a reoccurring theme of Hollywood, the villains in these films are almost always foreigners or people of color. This is a stereotype. On the other side of the spectrum, we often see that the heroes of these films are most often than not white males. This is another stereotype. Within the last few years, we’ve seen actors such as Will Smith, Morgan Freeman, and Zoe Saldana take the lead roles, so it can’t be said that there are no non-white heroes, but there certainly isn’t many. Hollywood action movies, moreover than other genres, are typically loaded with an abundance of stereotypes. The way these movies are composed and structured can tell us a great deal about the views held within the American psyche and who holds the social power. The harsh reality is that the media ultimately sets the tone for societal standards, moralities, and images of our culture. Many consumers of media have never encountered some of the minorities or people of color shown on screen, so they subsequently depend on the media and wholeheartedly believe that the degrading stereotypes represented on the big screen are based on fact and not fiction. Mary Beltran said it best when she stated in her “Fast and Bilingual: Fast & Furious and the Latinization of Racelessness” article, “ultimately, Fast & Furious mobilizes notions of race in contradictory ways. It reinforces Hollywood traditions of white centrism, reinforcing notions of white male master while also dramatizing the figurative borders crossed daily by culturally competent global youth – both Latino and non-Latino” (77). This paper will specifically look...
Before taking this class, my understanding between each individual and the whole society is that every individuals as the gear are connected together to become a society like a machine. That is, human beings build the society. However, the class gave me bigger view of the relationship between the people and the society. Discussing about the relationship between me and the broader social world is based on how all human beings and the broader social world effect together. Thus, I am going to show my understanding from the class and reading about the interaction between each individual and the whole society.